News of: Tuesday, 9th of October, 2007

Front Page

A special court yesterday sentenced former home minister and Awami League leader Mohammad Nasim to 13 years' imprisonment in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for illegally acquiring wealth and concealing wealth information.

A Dhaka court yesterday gave the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) the go-ahead to seize detained former prime minister Khaleda Zia's bank account documents and records at two banks in the city in connection with the Gatco container handling graft case.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday approved Tk 1,474 crore Hatirjheel Integrated Development Project aimed to address much of the city's waterlogging and traffic congestion problems.

President of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) Prof AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday called for a “government of national consensus” for next ten years comprising all democratic and patriotic political parties that believe in common development programmes.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a corruption case against Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and nine others including his family members on Sunday night.

Joint forces yesterday picked up former Awami League (AL) lawmaker Muhibur Rahman Manik of Sunamganj-5 constituency at Zallarpar in Sylhet city as he was coming out of the regional Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) office after submitting his wealth statement.

Awami League (AL) Acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday demanded resumption of indoor politics across the country immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr so that the political parties could make preparation for the local government polls.

Although the residents of the capital usually go on shopping sprees ahead of the two biggest religious festivals -- the Eid-ul-Fitr and Durga Puja -- the low-income group people are finding it hard to buy something new for themselves and for their family and friends this holiday season.

Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies of the United States and Martin Evans of Britain won the Nobel Medicine Prize yesterday for their work in creating "knockout mice," the 21st-century testbed for biomedical research.

Criticising Law Adviser Mainul Hosein for his comment on the government's "exit-plan" for Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia, BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday said Khaleda has the birth and constitutional right to stay in the country.

Editorial

A severe water crisis has made things go from bad to worse for people in Dhaka. With all the frequent power outages, horrendous traffic jams and the like already complicating life in the city, the shortage of water promises to create new nightmares for everyone. In very large areas of the city, notably Rampura, Kalyanpur, Shekher Tek and Mohammadpur, citizens have been suffering from lack of water for the last four or five days. There are areas where water supply has been in a state of suspension for as many as four days.

To say that the problems of expatriate Bangladeshi workers have not been handled well is an understatement. Their woes have been splashed very poignantly in the media continually, without any improvement in the situation. It seems that very little time is being given to ensure the entire process of workers employment abroad that occupies several stages are foolproof and hassle free.

The continent of Asia claims to have achieved remarkable progress in terms of poverty reduction in the past decade. The claim is apparently appeasing but, down to earth, disheartening when pitted against the prevailing pervasiveness of poverty in the region.

Ms. Benazir Bhutto has reportedly struck a deal with President Pervez Musharraf, under which corruption cases filed against her between 1985 and 1999 will be dropped, and she will tacitly support his election as Pakistan's president.

Repeatedly criticised by the media for picking up mediocre players in the national team, Syed Nayee-muddin came out with flying colours in Bangladesh's commendable 1-1 home draw against Tajikistan yesterday.

A chat with Danish Kaneria is one of life's little pleasures. Permanent mischief resides in those eyes and if you don't see it, his toothy smile will make sure you do. He talks straight, a Karachi trait, much of it unprintable, but generally spot on.

Opener Gautam Gambhir, injured during the practice session on the eve of the fourth one-dayer against Australia, will be out of action for two weeks and has been replaced by Tamil Nadu batsman Subramaniam Badrinath.

Ushering in a new dimension, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) invited all the divisional captains during the unveiling ceremony of MM Ispahani Ltd. as the sponsor for the 9th National Cricket League, which starts from October 19, at a local hotel yesterday.

In complete contrast to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar's remarks about the senior players in the side, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni yesterday sided with the ageing stalwarts and said they are irreplaceable.

A controversial murder case in Kolkata has rippled over to the top levels of Bengal cricket and could bear serious repercussions for the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) chief, Prasun Mukherjee, and joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly -- brother of Sourav.

Euro Famous emerged group champions in the Third Division Football Super League beating Matuail Udayan Sangsad 2-1 in a playoff match at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.

Around 51 thousand tonnes of sugar, worth about Tk145 crore, produced by seven state-owned mills in the country's northern area, has been unsold for six months as the market price for sugar is well below the factory cost of production, according to our correspondents from Kushtia and Dinajpur.

South Korea and Southeast Asian nations have reached a free trade deal on services, raising the possibility of finalising free trade talks by the end of this year, South Korea's Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said Monday.

Metropolitan

Instead of developing a proper education system, the country has been pursuing an education system inherited from colonial period, leading to a decline in the quality of education, eminent educationist Prof Muzaffer Ahmad said yesterday.

The World Bank will provide $102.26 million through its soft-lending window International Development Association (IDA) to support Bangladesh's efforts towards improving national water resources management.

Comrade Farhad was the epitome of ideological politics who struggled against the politics of black money and muscle power for establishing democracy in the country, speakers at a discussion said yesterday.

Leaders of Bangladesh Khetmajur Samity (BKS) (association of farm labourers) have urged the government to start distributing relief in the monga-hit districts in north-western part of the country as they claimed that monga (near-famine situation) has already started in that region.

Bangladesh will receive $ 2 million in grant from the World Bank's Avian and Human Influenza Facility (AHIF) to support the country's efforts to minimise the risk of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

World Hindu Federation (WHF) Bangladesh chapter yesterday called on the Election Commission (EC) to reserve 15 percent of the parliamentary seats for the minority community and ensure their enlistment in the voter list.

National

Front ranking BNP leaders in Kishoreganj are divided over reform issue, one faction supporting expelled secretary general Mannan Bhuiyan and the other siding with newly appointed secretary Khandaker Delwar Hossain.

Police have seized all the movable property of Srimongal upazila BNP president Mohsin Miah Modhu, also a former chairman of Srimongal Pourasabha, for his failure to appear before a court here despite repeated summons.

Letters

Dhaka is a city that has grown without any master plan. The result is unbearable traffic congestion, transformation of residential areas into commercial ones and so forth. Many have expressed their concern that Dhaka is destined to be the world's largest slum.

Polythene has returned to our market again. It seems very few people are aware of the consequences of using polythene. The most dangerous thing that I noticed is that the people carry warm liquid such as Dal with polythene which may contaminate the liquid with carcinogenic substance (cancer causing agent).

What is this rubbish about Tejgaon Airport we keep hearing all the time? High-rise buildings have been constructed within a certain distance of it, floors must be chopped off, it is quite ridiculous! The government has changed its mind over whether the Tejgaon Airport is obsolete or not several times over the years, it is not the fault of the builders of high-rises; they probably got their permissions during one of those "obsolete" times. This is again the fault of our government agencies not agreeing with each other. Let's declare Tejgaon Airport obsolete once and for all and sell off the land and get some revenue, let the businesses and high-rises be there, let them work. Our economy has suffered enough damage. Whatever little training Tejgaon is doing can be moved elsewhere.

I would like to differ with Brig (rtd) Hafiz's analysis of the BNP's position today and its future prospects (Oct: 1). In my opinion a remodeled BNP; tutored and headed by a pliant party head is in the offing. This person is going to lead BNP in the future political scenario. I appreciate the writer for correctly depicting the formative history of the party, and its efforts to recruit discarded and unsavoury political persons. However the rebirth of the BNP; possibly in the Zia mould, will be done by someone we cannot identify today.

The unnamed exporter's claim that War on Want encourages Britons not to buy clothes made in Bangladesh cannot be allowed to go unchallenged (Multiple factors blamed for sluggish RMG sector, 1 October). War on Want does not support clothes boycott campaigns as this may lead to job losses for current workers. Instead, we are working with our Bangladeshi partner organisations to improve the working conditions and livelihoods of garment workers and their families. War on Want has stressed this point in meetings with two major retailers, Tesco and Asda, and would be dismayed if they ducked keeping their ethical promises by moving production elsewhere.

The US-led "war on terror" has been a "disaster" and Washington and its allies must change their policy in Iraq and Afghanistan to defeat al-Qaeda, an independent global security think tank said yesterday.

Afghanistan's insurgency claimed 12 more lives, including those of two brothers accused by the Taliban of being spies, while a suicide blast near a Nato convoy Monday wounded two civilians, officials said.

The South Korean president said Monday the global standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes will soon be resolved, as US experts prepared to travel to Pyongyang to form a plan for disabling the country's reactors.

For an uninitiated outsider, making your way to one of Delhi's new art galleries can be a disorienting study in contrasts. In the crowded streets behind the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, where the air is heavy with the smell of gasoline and flowers, you are approached by women begging for money and food. Men shout invitations to enter their carpet shops or purchase wares like watches, magazines, leather jackets and cigarettes.

In an unusual casting move, the original stars of The Fast And The Furious are returning to the franchise they abandoned long ago. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are in talks to headline the fourth instalment of the high-octane street racing franchise. As Hollywood Reporter coyly puts it, “The story-line is being kept under wraps, but fast cars are involved.” Now that's investigative reporting.

A three-day show of Bagania, a play on the lifestyle of the tea pickers working at 158 tea gardens in the country, was held from October 4 to 6 at Kamalganj and Kulaura Upazilas in Maulvi Bazaar. Theatre personality Mamunur Rashid was the chief guest at the programme. Bagania, written by Kumar Pratish Baul and directed by Debashish Ghosh, is a Bagania Natyagoshthi production. Tea pickers have acted in the play.

OP-ED

September was set to witness the visit of a senior member of Burma's ruling regime, the State Peace and Development Committee (SPDC), who was scheduled to lead a high-profile delegation, hold official talks with the chief adviser, and attend a state banquet on September 10.

TIB has done a great job in exposing the depth of corruption in the country and in helping to bring the issue to the top of the national agenda. Its focus has been the public sector. But in its first attempt to probe NGOs, ("Problems in good governance in the NGO sector: The way forward," TIB, 2007), it has shot itself in the foot by drawing sweeping conclusions from data that came from a very few nameless entities. The report in its tone and substance verges on insinuation and innuendo.